


One More Deal

by caliecat



Series: E Malama (To Protect) - Episode 1.16 [4]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Coda, Episode Tag, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-12
Updated: 2011-02-12
Packaged: 2017-10-15 14:46:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/161867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caliecat/pseuds/caliecat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stan reflects on the day's events after the end of Episode 1x16, E Malama.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One More Deal

He stands in the dimly-lit hallway in front of the master bedroom, one hand poised on the doorknob, flooded with memories of the day's events.

When Rachel finally reached him, breathlessly relating details of the carjacking and break-in, he knew immediately what had happened. Ever since he walked away from Hoffman, wild-eyed with anger over the threat of exposure, he lived in fear of retaliation. He had counted on the fact that civilized people settle their differences in the boardroom and courthouse, not with guns and violence.

This time, his bet hadn't paid off.

There was nothing wrong with his plan, it was the accepted way of getting these things done. And he would have succeeded if only Hoffman hadn't become so greedy, pushing the price up higher and higher until ultimately Stan couldn't pay.

And then there was Danny.

Telling him about Hoffman was unthinkable. Danny doesn't understand how business works. Everything is black and white to him. He doesn't live in a world of negotiations and compromise, doesn't recognize the shades of gray you have to navigate to get the deal made. 

The thing about Danny is that you can't bullshit him, not like those Asian investors in Thailand, the ones he promised to get in on the ground floor of a project he doesn't even have permits for yet.

Like in the car on the way home today.  Damn right he was scared, and Danny saw right through his attempts at misdirection. He knew he had crossed a line, the one Danny guarded with his life.

He suspects Danny was the reason the Governor's office blocked the approval for his new development. And right behind him stood McGarrett. He may have charmed Rachel and Grace, but Stan knew better. The man was a killer and someone to be feared.

He turns the knob halfway, ready to push open the door, then freezes.

Lately, Rachel seems different. She doesn't bitch so much about Danny and her tone is softer on the phone when he calls to talk about Grace.  In unguarded moments he studies her face, watching it settle into something sad and almost wistful, before she catches his gaze and snaps her eyes away.

They argue about the money, the time he spends traveling, the late nights in his den working the phone. She doesn't understand the pressure he's under, the driving need to climb the next rung on the ladder.

But it doesn't matter.

He's on the verge of the biggest deal yet. He can taste it, feel it, in the thrumming of blood through his veins and the kick in his gut.

All he needs is one more deal. Then everything will be right again.

**Author's Note:**

> Writing Stan was a challenge because I really don't like him (can you tell?). But it's all right there in the car dialog with Danny: he and Hoffman were _negotiating._


End file.
